Castle Nursery and Preschool
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.4 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Guildford for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2024. Open since 2005, with 72 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Government-funded childcare for children from 9 months old, as well as for 2-year-olds and 3 - 4-year-olds.
Worth knowing. These entitlements are provided in line with the criteria set out by the local authority. Eligibility may vary, so please speak with the Nursery Manager at your preferred setting for guidance on the funding options available to you.
What childcare usually costs in Surrey
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Surrey from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
GU1 4QJWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 8 May 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children excitedly enter the nursery with their friends and separate easily from their parents. Staff know the children well and place a strong focus on their happiness. They provide a broad curriculum and an inviting environment, with resources to encourage children to play. For example, older children enjoy experimenting in the mud kitchen outside. They create their own 'chocolate ice cream' and 'birthday cake' to share with their friends. Staff support children and use every opportunity to develop children's learning, including joining in with their imaginative play.
Babies snuggle in with familiar adults to look at books. Toddlers enjoy playing with sensory bottles, shaking them and listening to the noises they make. This helps to develop their sense of belonging and communication skills as staff introduce new sounds and vocabulary.
Children are confident and independent. They explore inside and outside freely, riding on bikes and balancing on the stepping stones. This helps to develop their physical skills and coordination. Children know what they want to do and are able to express their needs well. For example, older children share that they would like to play hide and seek and direct the adults to count, as they find places to hide. All children including those with English as an additional language and special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress from their starting points.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- develop staff knowledge of questioning skills to allow children time to answer questions and think for themselves n strengthen the arrangements to share information with all parents to help develop children's learning and development at home.
- 8 May 2024Good
- 22 June 2018Good
- 4 November 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Castle Nursery and Preschool
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.